Repositioning for expansion and market dominance
When Matli Group was hired to help Hagerty update its brand and create a new marketing strategy, the company was already the leading private insurer of collector cars – and it was clear that their core customers, referred to simply as "car guys", had a stronger personal affinity for the company than is typical of how most people feel about their insurance company. But it was unclear how this could be leveraged to help Hagerty grow.
Most people don't love their insurance company. But passionate car collectors spoke about Hagerty as trusted friend that "got it".
We started with a complete brand audit of the company, including analysis of Hagerty's brand tracking studies and other consumer research they'd collected. It was clear that the company had grown in that most enviable way; through positive word-of-mouth by passionate customers who viewed Hagerty as the only true expert in the space. But unfortunately this cohort of passionate car collectors were only a small part of the market of people who owned collector cars. Our research revealed several different types of people who collected vintage and exotic cars - but clearly those who viewed themselves as "collectors" or "car guys" (rather than normal guys who happened to own a collector car) were far more likely to be fans of Hagerty, while the average person had likely never heard of them.
We crafted a segmentation strategy to support Hagerty's excellent outreach to core collectors and to expand Hagerty's awareness among average-joe collectors of all stripes. The marketing strategy amplified much of what Hagerty was already doing well, but expanding it to new channels and making Hagerty more visible in places where casual car enthusiasts might find them. We recommended a channel marketing strategy leveraging relationships with mainstream insurers who re-sold Hagerty to normal people. This foundational work has helped Hagerty to grow to be the largest private car insurer and has turned normal people who happened to have a collector car into "insiders" who understand the unique services that Hagerty provides for special cars that is different from any other insurer. It has helped to create more "car guys" out of people who liked classic cars, creating brand loyalty and increasing average lifetime value of each customer it acquires.
Identification of 1 new market segment
Pinpointed specific drivers of purchase intent for 2 existing core markets
Segmented marketing and channel sales strategy leading to expansion of core business
Case Study: Hagerty
We started with a complete analysis of the brand and identification of what key information was missing to make more aligned marketing decisions. Using our proprietary Audit Questionnaire we captured all existing research and insights related to Hagerty's current business and translated that into an easy-to-understand snapshot of known and unknown info with what touchpoints were affected.
Combining Hagerty's brand tracking studies with new consumer research and our own conjoint analysis revealed 4 distinct customer segments with distinct profiles, key drivers of purchase intent and needs. This became the foundation for a multi-segment strategy.
After defining customer segments and identifying those with greatest growth opportunity as well as lifetime value, a plan was drafted for how to position Hagerty's offers to each segment in a way that was meaningful to them.
From a proprietary positioning framework, a marketing strategy was created to reach each segment in the most relevant way. New business opportunities were identified within the B2B partnership space.
The Hagerty logo was updated and simplified so that it could be used more flexibly in more types of applications. From the simplified logo, we created Hagerty's own proprietary font for use in headlines across all brand materials.
Following Hagerty's customer segmentation, we created a unique VIP brand identity for Hagerty's most valuable clients.
For the core Hagerty brand consumer, we created an exploration of how the brand would be experienced in print collateral.
As part of the Concours d'Elegance a premier yearly event sponsored by Hagerty, motorists looked forward to the limited-edition collectible items created by Hagerty. Featured here, the Motoring Journal (Winner How Magazine Promotions Award) and Racing Cap.
Hagerty had a presence at car events throughout the country and needed a distinctive, recognizeable and aspirational presence. We created a classic pop-up trade show booth – but printed everything on chrome-finish mylar so that the whole booth gleamed like a polished engine.
As a loved and respected niche brand with a passionate following, Hagerty was uniquely positioned to move into line extensions for the collector car enthusiast. We crafted a go-to-market plan as well as initial product concepts for this opportunity